Spiritual Grit

You ever wonder how to choose which battles to fight and which wants to let be? When you're an activist, sometimes it's hard to choose. We want to fight them all! In this episode, I'm talking about using the body to help discern between what's worth our time investment and what isn't. How to reframe unwanted experiences into invitations rather than "why is this happening *to* me?". How to stop assuming you know how it will all unfold (are you a predictor of the future? Do you know tomorrow's lotto numbers? 😂). And how to decide which battles are worth fighting for. Oh, and you'll love the card that came forward for this week! (Hint: there's so much abundance!) * August is my month of selfless service. I'm offering complimentary 1:1 coaching packages for two people who identify as women/femmes/nonbinary folks of color for the month of August. Application is available at my Instagram bio @leslieannhobayan * Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Poem: "(Dear Fu'una)" by Craig Santos Perez  * Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

Ep 180 - Best of Spiritual Grit Podcast - Set your boundaries, bbs! A lot of people talk about boundaries and having the need to set them. But what does that actually mean? And what are boundaries anyway? What do they look like and why does it feel so hard to set them and hold them? In this episode, I get into the details of the different kinds of boundaries we can set in our lives, the reasons why some boundaries are more porous than others, and why it is important for us to have clear and defined boundaries, particularly for us empaths and women of color. People pleasing behavior is no accident. Listen in to learn how the mind, body, and spirit connection is essential to boundary setting and how a resilient nervous system is the bridge to it all. * August is my month of selfless service. I'm offering complimentary 1:1 coaching packages for two people who identify as women/femmes/nonbinary folks of color for the month of August. Application is available at my Instagram bio @leslieannhobayan

It's Leo season! And so we've got the energy of confidence and fire to create the life we want to live. In this episode, I invite you to map out the vision for your life. Nobody asks us anymore where we see ourselves in three, five, and ten years. When you hit midlife, you still have 30 to 40 years of living to do. So tell me: What do you envision for the second half of your life? Where are you living? What kind of relationships do you have? Do you feel financially at ease? Also, the Knight of Wands comes forward to remind us that arrogance can increase our blind spots. So dream big but don't get it twisted that you are in full control of making those dreams come true. Partnering with the universe is the way to go! * August is my month of selfless service. I'm offering complimentary 1:1 coaching packages for two people who identify as women/femmes/nonbinary folks of color for the month of August. Application is available at my Instagram bio @leslieannhobayan Tarot card: Knight of Wands (reversed) Poem: "Cover Me" by Kazim Ali

What are your gifts to the world? And where are you planting them? What do you find easy to do that others find difficult? How can people benefit from you sharing your gifts? And your gifts don't have to magnanimous things. It could be something as simple as "I give the best hugs". Do you know how important that is?? For my part, I am homing in on telling my stories as a daughter of immigrants and planting the seeds of my gift for healing so that other daughters of immigrants know that there is a better way to Be. I'm shifting my focus to help more daughters of immigrants to heal their generational traumas and build nervous system resilience so that they can set and hold clear boundaries with their families. If you want to know more about this, feel free to reach out! leslieann(at)suryagian(dot)com Here's to planting seeds so that we may garden of this world!

🎙️ Prepare for an unforgettable auditory experience and full of learnings! 🎧 Join us in the latest episode of our podcast as I share about being your authentic self in a world full of fakes. Can you be your most authentic self? What does that even mean? Who is your authentic self? What does that look like? And how do you do it?These are some questions on exploring and this week's episode. In a world where more people are talking about being authentic, how many of us are actually doing it? How many of us actually know what our authentic selves look like and feel like? And do we feel safe enough to be our most authentic selves 100% of the time? If we don't, how can we create a sense of safety for ourselves? Also: who cares what other people think?Tune in to find out! And if you'd like support and guidance for this endeavor, I'd love to help! Just reach out - send an email to: leslieann @ suryagian (dot) com. * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: The Hierophant (V) Poem: “Sibola Church” by Karen Rigby   Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

And this week's episode, I'm talking about the balance of give and take, of giving and receiving. I'm inviting folks to consider shifting away from the closed-off-ness of individualism ("I'm going to do my own thing and I don't care what anyone else does.") and stepping into collective care. How can we be mindful of how our actions affect others? How can we pay attention to our role in the collective while? Which then shifts the conversation to representation. For folks who are from marginalized communities, we are used to seeing the varied stories of white folks while only a single story of us is portrayed in the culture. When that changes, when we see ourselves represented in mainstream spotlights, it is profound. It feels like a confirmation that yes, we exist. We are visible and we are seen. I talk about the new all Filipino Broadway show, "Here Lies Love" and the new Asian-American "girlfriends road trip" movie, "Joy Ride" and what it feels like to be seen in a BIG way. * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com * Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Six of Pentacles (Reversed) Poem: "How to Eat Your Love" by Jennifer Kwon Dobbs   * Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

In today's episode, I'm talking about Trisha Hersey's Rest is Resistance and how important it is for us to rest, for us to resist the capitalist structures that tell us to Go!Go!Go! How can we remember that we are divinity itself? That what we "do" does not determine our worth? We are worthy simply because we BE. But it's not easy to step into this practice of resting after being indoctrinated--since birth-- by the ideas of continual labor as worthiness. A community of care can make all the difference in breaking out of systems of oppression. Being in community can help us heal and, as a result, thrive. Community encourages us to keep going when it gets hard. I invite you to join me in community so we can reimagine a world that honors our true nature. * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com * Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Six of Swords Poem: "Conversion" by Christian Detisch Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

What lights you up?  In this episode, I talk about the word “creativity”, how it sometimes carries so much weight that people deny they are the least bit creative. What if we defined it? What if it wasn’t about painting a masterpiece? Or writing the great American novel (whatever the *heck* that is!)? What doors would open up for people? What magic might unfold? I believe that we can create whatever we want and view it as magic. Magic is real. Magic is energy. When we step intentionally into a space of wonder, delightful surprises unfold! What do you want to create? It can be anything, big or small, fun and light or serious and powerful. You are being called to express your soul in the physical realm. What does that look like for you? And when will you take action? When you’re on your deathbed, what will you remember most? Will you smile at the magic you’ve created? Or will you frown in regret? Let’s create some magic, shall we? * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Your Life is a Canvass Poem: “Baptism of Desire” by Sophia M. Starnes Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

With the speed of life today, it is so easy for us to forget. To forget what we were doing in the middle of doing it. To forget why we do the things that we do. To forget that we have physical bodies because we are so immersed in what's happening on a screen. The biggest forgetting is that our bodies hold so much wisdom. Our bodies never lie to us. Our bodies guide us to what's right, to what's aligned with our souls, to the path of our dharma (aka our life's purpose). The trouble is, because we keep running at the speed of technology, we have forgotten. In this week's episode, I invite you to practice remembering. To tune in to the wisdom carried in your cells, in your very DNA.What is possible when you remember? * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Lost Lands Poem: “The Price of Rice” Su Hwang Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com

What's getting in your way? What patterns or behaviors are keeping you stuck? Where is your focus? Is that focus preventing you from seeing beyond? Sometimes we look for things we want in the wrong places. Sometimes they're right in front of our faces. I've been talking about community and what it is (or can be) and how we can create & build one. So what is community really? And how do you know that you're in one? What presumptions do you have that prevent you from seeing the community in front of your face? These are questions I explore in today's episode. Sometimes things are easier than we make them out to be. * Follow me on Instagram for some real talk about midlife living in the diaspora, healing, alchemy, the magic of poetry, AND play: @leslieannhobayan or email me at leslieann@suryagian.com. You can also check my website at www.suryagian.com Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned: Oracle Card: Eight of Cups Poem: “Timbuktu” by Sahar Muradi Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned: Subscribe to “Adventures in Midlife” newsletter: leslieann.substack.com